Guests at a hotel in Las Vegas claim to have been burned by rays of sun that have been magnified by the building's glass structure.

Holidaymakers at the Vdara hotel reported that their hair had been singed and that plastic bags had melted in the heat of the hotel.

The hotel's owners said that the tall, concave tower collected and intensified sunshine to create what staff call a "death ray" focused on the swimming pool area.

Bill Pintas, a lawyer from Chicago staying at the hotel, said that he suffered from the heat soon after noon one day.

"I'm sitting there in the chair and all of the sudden my hair and the top of my head are burning," Mr Pintas told ABC News. "I'm rubbing my head and it felt like a chemical burn. I couldn't imagine what it could be.

"I used to live in Miami and I've sat in the sun in Las Vegas 100 times," he said. "I know what a hot sun feels like and this was not it."